Police responding to shooting at Texas mall, multiple injured

3:21 pm on 7 May 2023

ALLEN, TEXAS - MAY 6: Emergency personnel work the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets on May 6, 2023 in Allen, Texas. According to reports, a shooter opened fire at the outlet mall, injuring nine people who were taken to local hospitals. The police have confirmed there were fatalities but have not specified how many. The unidentified shooter was neutralized by an Allen Police officer responding to an unrelated call. Stewart F. House/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Stewart F. House / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Emergency personnel work the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets on May 6, 2023 (local time) in Allen, Texas. Photo: AFP / Stewart F. House

A gunman has shot and killed eight people and wounded at least seven others at a busy mall north of Dallas, Texas, police say.

The gunman, whom authorities said they believe acted alone, was killed by a police officer after he began firing outside of the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas, the city's police chief Brian Harvey said at a press conference.

Medical City Healthcare, which runs 16 hospitals in the area, said in a statement that its trauma centers were treating eight of the wounded victims, who ranged in age from 5 to 61. The hospital did not say what condition they were in.

ALLEN, TEXAS - MAY 6: Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey delivers a statement to the press at the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets on May 6, 2023 in Allen, Texas. According to reports, a shooter opened fire at the outlet mall, injuring nine people who were taken to local hospitals. The police have confirmed there were fatalities but have not specified how many. The unidentified shooter was neutralized by an Allen Police officer responding to an unrelated call. Stewart F. House/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Stewart F. House / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey delivers a statement to the press at the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets. Photo: AFP / Stewart F. House

TV aerial images showed hundreds of people calmly walking out of the mall, located about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dallas, after the violence unfolded, many with their hands up as scores of police stood guard.

One unidentified eyewitness told local ABC affiliate WFAA TV that the gunman was "walking down the sidewalk just ... shooting his gun outside," and that "he was just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part".

Blood could be seen on sidewalks outside the mall and white sheets covering what appeared to be bodies.

ALLEN, TEXAS - MAY 6: A member for the Allen SWAT team returns to the parking lot near the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets on May 6, 2023 in Allen, Texas. According to reports, a shooter opened fire at the outlet mall, injuring nine people who were taken to local hospitals. The police have confirmed there were fatalities but have not specified how many. The unidentified shooter was neutralized by an Allen Police officer responding to an unrelated call. Stewart F. House/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Stewart F. House / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

A member for the Allen SWAT team returns to the parking lot near the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets. Photo: AFP / Stewart F. House

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy," said in a statement that the state was prepared to offer any assistance local authorities may need.

Allen, Texas, is a community of about 100,000 people.

Mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, with at least 198 so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.

- Reuters / BBC